Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image. Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression. Help us, like those of generations before us, resist the evil of slavery and human bondage in any form and any manner of oppression. Help us to use our freedoms to bring justice among people and nations everywhere, to the glory of your Holy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
– the Rt. Rev. Deon Johnson, Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Texas were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Over 150 years later, Congress designated Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021.
For the Episcopal Church, Juneteenth is not only a day of remembrance. It is a summon to truth-telling, repair, and faithful public witness. We honor the joy of freedom while also acknowledging that emancipation was delayed, contested, and incomplete. The legacies of slavery continue to shape racial disparities in wealth, health, housing, incarceration, migration, and political power.
As followers of Jesus, we reject every theology and political movement that baptizes racial hierarchy, white supremacy, domination, or Christian nationalism. Our faith calls us instead toward Beloved Community: a society where every person bears the full dignity of being made in the image of God and where public policy protects the freedom and flourishing of all.
As one way to mark this year’s holiday, you are invited to act by using the following action alerts that call upon Congress to address racial injustice and create a society where the dignity and freedom of all are fully respected.
Advance the Study of Reparations
The Episcopal Church has made a clear commitment: we are called to be a transformed, anti-racist church. That means reckoning with the truth of our past and working toward real repair. One critical step is supporting H.R.40/S.40, legislation that would create a federal commission to study and develop proposals for reparations for African Americans.
Since 1989, this legislation has been introduced every session of Congress. And while in recent years, the legislation has received a record number of co-sponsors and has passed out of committee, the legislation has not passed either chamber. That must change.
Our baptismal promise is to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. Reparations are not just about the past. They are about telling the truth, repairing harm, and building a future grounded in equity, accountability, and the Beloved Community God dreams for us all.
Tell your members of Congress: It’s time. Cosponsor and pass H.R. 40/S. 40.
Act Now to Safeguard our Right to Vote
Voting rights has long been a battleground issue to address racial injustices in the United States. Harmful legislation has been introduced in Congress that would restrict rights and cause harm for many communities. Voting rights advocates are still reeling from the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais that limits the impact of the Voting Rights Act. We must do all we can to prevent further erosion of voting rights, access, and representation.
General Convention has called for reforms that would expand voter registration, increase voter eligibility, and make voting processes more accessible. We also oppose efforts to limit or restrict voting access. The SAVE America Act, legislation which has passed the House and may be voted on in the Senate, serves as an unnecessary roadblock designed to disenfranchise voters, upending an electoral process that is already safe and secure. Researchers estimate that it would further disenfranchise low-income voters, women, and others who do not have passports or other additional forms of identification.
Write to your senators today and urge them to vote against the amended S.1383.
Support Maternal Health
Maternal mortality in the United States is among the worst of highly industrialized wealthy nations, with striking racial disparities. Black women have among the worst outcomes. The Episcopal Church advocates for safe and equitable prenatal and postnatal health care that promotes healthy pregnancies for all, including by eliminating disparities in care and outcomes.
The Momnibus Act is a set of 14 bills that would provide an investment in social determinants of health, expand community health resources, promote maternal vaccinations, and more. This bill is one way to address racial disparities and help ensure more mothers receive the care they need. This legislation, sponsored by the Black Maternal Health caucus, would authorize a range of investments to address maternal health overall and improve outcomes for Black women.
Write to your members of Congress today and urge them to pass the Momnibus Act!
End the Use of Private Prisons
The Episcopal Church has long spoken out against mass incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, and other policies and practices that perpetuate racial injustice. As prison populations grew in the 1980s and 1990s, federal and state governments began to rely more on private prisons to meet the expanding incarceration rate as a cost-cutting measure, resulting in the emergence of a private or for-profit prison industry. Currently, people are incarcerated in private prisons at the local, state, and federal level, including immigrant populations detained.
Private prisons lack oversight mechanisms, and they are not required to release inmate population or personnel data. Without sufficient oversight, people in these prisons are vulnerable to abuse, and we know of many cases where there have been dangerous and unsafe conditions. Join us in advocating for the end of private prisons!
Urge Congress to Support the End Solitary Confinement Act
Solitary confinement, an inhumane practice considered torture by the United Nations, disproportionately impacts individuals of color and is part of a brutal system of mass incarceration in the United States. A 2023 report indicated that 122,000 people in the U.S. are held in solitary confinement throughout prisons and jails, and Black men and women are overrepresented in the population of incarcerated people who are subjected to solitary confinement.
As a partner of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), The Episcopal Church is working to end the use of prolonged solitary confinement for all those incarcerated or in detention.
Juneteenth reminds us that freedom delayed is freedom denied. To commemorate this holy day faithfully, we must advocate for policies that protect human dignity, confront systemic racism, and refuse every form of bondage that continues to wound the body of Christ.
Write to your members of Congress today and urge them to end solitary confinement.
